The field of the invention relates to a rail assembly which is movable in the vertical plane and/or storable beneath a hospital bed.
Safety bed rails are provided on virtually all hospital beds to prevent patients from injury. The rails are movable at least between down and up positions to allow the patient access to and from the bed. Some rail assemblies are storable under the bed when in the down position, thereby minimizing the space occupied by the bed itself. U.S. Pat. No. 3,081,463 is directed to such a rail assembly. The rail pivots downwardly from the up position when unlatched and swings beneath the bed for storage. U.S. Pat. No. 3,855,654 discloses a safety bed rail assembly which collapses to a down position. A pair of pivot arms allows it to be stored under the bed. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,903 discloses a rail assembly mounted to a pair of pivot arms which allows it to be moved between up and down positions. The rail assembly may be stored under the bed by sliding it along a pair of support rods.